Finding Soul
by EmilyLily
Summary: Amy Fleming thinks she is just taking on another case when Carrie and her horse Samba come to Heartland. But this case is very different - old wounds will be opened and scars may be healed.
1. Chapter 1

**Finding Soul – A Heartland Fanfic**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Heartland – All rights to CBC and Lauren Brooke.**

When 19 – year old Amy Fleming woke up on the unseasonably warm September morning, there seemed to be nothing out of the ordinary. She ate a quick breakfast with her sister Lou and her grandfather Jack Bartlett and then went out into the family barn to work with her latest horse. His name was Trigger, he was a black and white cob and he had a really problem with bucking; his previous owner had been too rough with him and had left the otherwise good – natured animal with a severe fear of being ridden. So far Amy had been placing a light saddle cloth of his back and securing it with a soft rope so that if he bucked he would not feel any pain.

After an hour of T- touch and Join – Up techniques, Amy decided to once again place the cloth of his back. As she picked up the soft material, Trigger turned his great head in her direction and looked at her, Amy allowed him to sniff the cloth before placing it very gently on his back. The cob neither flinched nor made to run away, he just stood there, half dozing in the autumn sunshine. Amy was amazed by the horse's progress, he was getting better and better by the day and Amy was sure that soon he would be ready for heavier objects to be placed on his back before they could move onto a saddle and rider.

Just as Lily was leading Trigger into the main paddock, Amy saw the familiar truck of her boyfriend Ty. Turning out the piebald cob, Amy rushed over to Ty and gave him a long, sweet kiss.

"Good Morning." She said, Ty gave her a fond smile as he held her close.

"Morning. How are you?" Amy nodded and began to tell him about Trigger's progress when she noticed there was something off about him.

"What is it? Ty?" Ty looked down, he wasn't quite sure how Amy was going to take the news that he was about to give her.

"I was up with Scott last night, a horse was brought in, it had been in a pretty bad accident. Scott wasn't able to tell me the full story, but he told me it was pretty bad. It was a car accident, a little girl got really hurt. Amy, Scott wanted to put it down but I wanted to see if you...You don't have to work with him." Amy nodded in understanding, he was referring to the likeness between this accident and the one that had killed her mother, Marion when Amy had been just fifteen.

"No, I'd like to work with him. But what about the little girl? How badly injured was she?" Ty looked down again, tears threatening to form as he remember what Scott had said about the girl.

"One of her legs was very badly broken, they had to remove part of it." Amy felt all the colour drain from her face as the words hit her. Suddenly her determination was re – kindled, she had to work with this horse. For the sake of that little girl.

"I don't know Amy. It sounds like that animal is pretty damn feral and I don't want to see you get hurt. And as for that girl, who knows what state she must be in, she may not want help, she may not want to ride anymore." It was evening and the family was sitting around the dinner table, with Ty and Mallory, enjoying one of Lou's homemade Beef and Mushroom Stews.

"Grandpa, I've got to atleast try! You remember what I was like after the accident with Mum, I didn't want to ride either, I just want to try and help." Jack looked at his youngest granddaughter, seeing just how far she had come since that fateful day when she had woken up in the hospital to the news that her mother, his daughter had died.

"Fine. But if that animal is too dangerous then I am sorry Amy, but I cannot turn a blind eye." Amy smiled in gratitude, she would show her grandpa that this was the right thing to do.

Two weeks had passed since Ty had told Amy about the injured horse. As Amy was finally putting a light – weight saddle on Trigger, who was now taking some substantial objects without a fuss, she heard the unmistakable clank of a trailer. Looking past the pen, Amy saw a dusty range rover towing a even dustier trailer. In the car, Amy could just make out a woman driving and a young girl sitting sullenly in the passenger side. The car came to a halt just in front of the big barn and Amy came out of the pen to meet them. The woman came out first, she had dark blonde hair that fell to her shoulders and Amy felt she had a similar look to how Lou appeared when she first came to Heartland – like a high profile business woman.

"Hi, Felicity Neera, lovely to meet you." Felicity introduced, reaching out a slender hand.

"Amy Fleming." Amy said, shaking the older woman's hand. There was the sound of a car door opening and out emerged a skinny red – haired girl. She was supporting herself on crutches and she looked largely unimpressed.

"This is my daughter, Carrie." Felicity said, motioning towards the young girl. Amy smiled at the girl, who did not offer one back.

Suddenly there was a high pitched squeal, followed by a great deal of banging.

"It sounds like your horse really wants to get out." Amy said.

Lou showed the two news guests to their cabins at the Dude Ranch, whilst Amy, Ty and Jack all just about managed to herd the wild and tormented animal into the barn and secured him in one of the sturdier stalls. As Amy watched the beautiful animal pace back and forth in his stall, Amy could not help the doubt and anxiety that crept slowly but surely into her mind and she could not help the feeling that perhaps she had taken on too much this time.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Heartland. All rights to CBC and Lauren Brooke**

The next morning, when Amy started to work with the new horse, she soon saw that her worst fears had been realised. The horse was all but untameable; she had been forced to call Scott early that morning to administer a tranquiliser just so she could get near to the horse. Now that he was in the round pen, he was stubbornly refusing every attempt at join – up.

After just over two hours of driving him around the pen, Amy threw down the lunge line in frustration. Samba was dripping with sweat and white froth was appearing over her flanks and chest.

"No luck, huh?" Ty's voice sounded just behind her. Amy turned to him, shaking her head dejectedly. She walked over to him and climbed over the high wooden fence, dropping down carefully beside him.

"What about Mallory, did she find out anything about his owner?" Ty smiled, he and Amy had decided the previous evening that given Mallory's talent of extracting information, that she was the best candidate to try and get some useful knowledge on Samba.

"Well, she said that Carrie told her not a lot. She has had Samba for five years and then one day..." Ty trailed off as their minds thought over the devastating and permanent effects that the fateful accident had inflicted on both horse and rider.

"So, she's not talking to anyone. If she doesn't tell me anything, how can I help?" Amy asked desperately, Ty gave her sympathetic look, her patience and intuitions with not only the horses that crossed the threshold into Heartland but with the owners as well filled Ty with a great deal of respect for his girlfriend.

"She may come around." Ty suggested, wanting to sound optimistic. Amy appreciated his efforts but she did not have much time left.

"Well, I have to try and speak to her myself. Grandpa doesn't like me working with Samba; he says that he is too dangerous." Amy said, gazing back at the horse who was still cantering wildly around the pen, his eyes rolling as he searched for some sort of escape route. "I have to at least try."

That is how Amy found herself, half an hour later, outside the door of the cabin that Felicity and Carrie were staying in. Taking a deep breath, Amy knocked firmly three times. For a couple of minutes there was no movement, and then the door opened slowly, revealing a rather pale and dishevelled looking Carrie.

"Hi, Carrie, right?" Amy asked, wanting to begin some conversation. Carrie nodded, her face still set in the emotionless mask it had been when they had arrived.

"My Mum will be back in a few minutes, she just went to talk to your sister." Carrie explained.

"Actually I came here to talk to you." Amy said as she watched Carrie's eyes widen a little. "Can I come in?" Carrie nodded and stood back enough to let Amy through the door.

"Why do you want to talk to me?" Carrie asked uncertainly as she hobbled painfully over to the nearest chair and lowered herself into it.

"Well, Samba is your horse, isn't he?" Carrie gave no answer so Amy continued. "When I work with a horse, I need to know their rider too." Amy explained, finally, Carrie's amber eyes turned to her with a rather haunted look in them.

"I am not his rider anymore." She whispered so quietly that Amy had trouble catching what she said. "I didn't want my Mum to bring us here. But she just...did." Amy sighed internally, she could see this was getting her nowhere; the little girl was broken and utterly disheartened.

"I cannot help him with your help." Amy said simply as she perched herself on the end of the comfy cabin bed.

"I'm no good for anything. I got us here in the first place." The last part of the sentence came out in a hoarse whisper as Carrie desperately tried to hold back the anguished sob that was threatening to spill from her throat.

"What do –" But Amy did not get to complete her question, as next moment, the cabin door opened and Felicity Neera came through with a bag of what looked like Lou's homemade muffins.

"Oh hello Amy." Felicity said in a rather surprised tone. Amy gave her a small smile and then stood up again.

"Thank you Carrie." She murmured as she let herself out of the cabin, her mind reeling over what had been said. What had she meant when she said that she had got them here in the first place?

The conversation was still swirling around in her brain when Amy came to do the night check on the horses.

"Hey, you seemed pretty quiet at dinner." Jack said questioningly as he came to help Amy see to the horses. Amy gave a half shrug.

"It's just what Carrie said today. I asked her about Samba and she said that she had been the one that had got them here in the first place." Amy explained, Jack's brow furrowed as he looked down at his granddaughter.

"Do you think she did it deliberately?" He asked, but Amy shook her head. She had seen a case where the owner had caused the accident deliberately, but this time seemed different somehow.

"No, it's as if...I dunno, like Carrie cannot go near her horse, like she doesn't deserve him." Amy stammered, she didn't know how to explain it to herself. Jack gave her an understanding look as he gave her shoulder an encouraging squeeze.

"I'm sure you'll figure it out. You always do." Jack said before he turned and made his way back to the house. Amy stared after him, feeling completely lost, she did not know where to start with this case, it was like trying to complete a puzzle when there were several pieces missing. Nothing added up.

The next morning, Amy tried the same routine with Samba again, but again the horse refused every chance of join – up.

"Well you are impossible." Amy grumbled at the dark gelding as she opened the round pen gate and let his out into the pasture.

"Any better today?" Ty asked as he came to stand beside Amy, watching the dark horse gallop freely around the grassy field.

"Nope. It's almost like he is afraid to get close to me." Amy muttered. The sound of an approaching car engine caught their attention and she and Ty turned round to find the Neera's car pulling up in the main driveway, and Amy was even more astonished when Carrie stepped out of the car in a pair of old jeans and a sweatshirt.

"I've thought about what you said." The young girl began and she supported herself on her crutches. "I want Samba to get better. But I do not want to ride." She finished firmly. Amy nodded solemnly as she watched the little girl hobble over to the pasture gate and stare out longingly into the green space. All of a sudden there was a terrifying screech as Samba, who had been grazing, lifted her proud head and then began to gallop madly towards the paddock fence, stopping just before the metal gate and rearing menacingly at a petrified Carrie.

"Carrie!" Amy shouted as she, Ty and Felicity rushed over to the young girl, who was staring fixedly at the gelding, which was now galloping madly around the outskirts of the paddock, bucking and squealing.

"I'm fine!" Carrie screamed in frustration before she pushed her mother away and shut herself back inside the car, tears spilling down her pale cheeks.

"Well, I don't think it's as much the horse that has a problem as that little girl." Ty muttered as he stared after Carrie thoughtfully. Amy didn't respond, but one thing had been made clear. Whatever this was, it was not simple.

**I hope this chapter is alright. Please read & review. Thanks – Em xx**


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